FAST (Funding Accelerated for Smaller Towns)

The COPS FAST program was designed to provide funding directly to local,
state, and tribal jurisdictions for the salaries and benefits of newly hired
officers engaged in community policing. As one of the COPS Office's first hiring
programs, FAST funding was awarded to help law enforcement agencies form
partnerships with their communities to develop innovative ways to address
longstanding problems. FAST served jurisdictions with populations of less than
50,000. Larger jurisdictions were funded under the COPS
AHEAD grant program.

COPS FAST provided federal funding for 75 percent of a newly hired
entry-level officer's salary and benefits, up to a maximum of $75,000 per
officer, over the three -year grant period. Either newly hired officers were
deployed into community policing activities or a comparable number of veteran
officers were redeployed into community policing in their place. Each department
was required to contribute at least 25 percent in local matching funds.

There was one announcement in March 1995 for the FAST grant program, after
which approximately $400 million was awarded to over 6,700 law enforcement
agencies to fund the hiring of nearly 6,100 officers. FAST and AHEAD
were subsequently merged into the COPS Universal Hiring
Program (UHP).